Lead official of the Inquisition
Grand Inquisitor (Latin : Inquisitor Generalis , literally Inquisitor General or General Inquisitor ) was the highest-ranked official of the Inquisition . The title usually refers to the inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition , in charge of appeals and cases of aristocratic importance, even after the reunification of the inquisitions. Secretaries-general of the Roman Inquisition were often styled as Grand Inquisitor but the role and functions were different.
The Portuguese Inquisition was headed by a Grand Inquisitor, or General Inquisitor, named by the Pope but selected by the king, always from within the royal family.
The most famous Inquisitor General was the Spanish Dominican Tomás de Torquemada , who spearheaded the Spanish Inquisition.
List of Spanish Grand Inquisitors [ edit ] Tomás de Torquemada , Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1483–1498) Diego de Deza , Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1498–1507) Separation of Inquisitions of Castile and Aragon [ edit ] Adrian of Utrecht , Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1518–1522) Juan Pardo de Tavera , Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1539–1545) Fernando Niño de Guevara , Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1600–1602) Francisco Antonio de Lorenzana , Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1794–1797) Reunification of the Inquisitions [ edit ] From To Grand Inquisitor Other positions held 1518 1522 Adrian of Utrecht Cardinal priest of Ss. Giovanni e Paolo , Bishop of Tortosa , later Pope 1523 1538 Alonso Manrique de Lara Bishop of Badajoz , Archbishop of Seville , Cardinal 1539 1545 Juan Pardo de Tavera Archbishop of Toledo 1546 1546 García de Loaysa Archbishop of Seville 1547 1566 Fernando de Valdés y Salas Archbishop of Seville 1566 1572 Diego de Espinosa Bishop of Sigüenza , Bishop of Cuenca 1572 1572 Pedro Ponce de León Bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo , Bishop of Plasencia 1573 1594 Gaspar de Quiroga y Vela Archbishop of Toledo 1595 1595 Jerónimo Manrique de Lara Bishop of Cartagena , Bishop of Ávila 1596 1599 Pedro de Portocarrero Bishop of Calahorra , Bishop of Cuenca 1599 1602 Fernando Niño de Guevara Archbishop of Seville 1602 1602 Juan de Zúñiga Flores Bishop of Cartagena 1603 1608 Juan Bautista de Acevedo Bishop of Valladolid , Patriarch of the Indias 1608 1618 Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas Archbishop of Toledo 1619 1621 Luis de Aliaga Martínez 1622 1626 Andrés Pacheco Bishop of Cuenca , Patriarch of the Indias 1627 1632 Antonio de Zapata Cisneros Archbishop of Burgos 1632 1643 Antonio de Sotomayor Prior of Santo Domingo 1643 1665 Diego de Arce y Reinoso Bishop of Tuy , Bishop of Avila , Bishop of Palencia 1665 1665 Pascual de Aragón Archbishop of Toledo 1666 1669 Juan Everardo Nithard 1669 1695 Diego Sarmiento de Valladares Bishop of Oviedo , Bishop of Plasencia 1695 1699 Juan Tomás de Rocaberti Prior of Santo Domingo, Archbishop of Valencia 1699 1699 Alonso Fernández de Córdoba y Aguilar Appointed Grand Inquisitor, but died before he could assume this office. 1699 1705 Baltasar de Mendoza y Sandoval Bishop of Segovia 1705 1709 Vidal Marín del Campo Archbishop of Burgos 1709 1710 Antonio Ibáñez de Riva Herrera Archbishop of Zaragoza , Archbishop of Toledo 1711 1716 Francesco del Giudice Archbishop of Monreale 1715 1715 Felipe Antonio Gil de Taboada Commissioned as Grand Inquisitor but did not serve. 1717 1717 José de Molines Proclaimed in Rome, but detained by Austrians and died without serving. 1718 1718 Felipe de Arcemendi Died without serving. 1720 1720 Diego de Astorga y Céspedes Archbishop of Toledo 1720 1733 Juan de Camargo y Angulo Bishop of Pamplona 1733 1740 Andrés de Orbe y Larreategui Archbishop of Valencia 1742 1746 Manuel Isidro Orozco Manrique de Lara Archbishop of Santiago 1746 1755 Francisco Pérez de Prado Bishop of Teruel 1755 1774 Manuel Quintano Bonifaz Titular Archbishop of Farsala 1775 1783 Felipe Beltrán Serrano Bishop of Salamanca 1784 1793 Agustín Rubin de Ceballos Bishop of Jaén 1793 1794 Manuel Abad y Lasierra Titular Archbishop of Selymbria 1794 1797 Francisco Antonio Lorenzana y Butrón Archbishop of Toledo 1797 1808 Ramón José de Arce y Rebollar Archbishop of Burgos 1808 1814 Abolition of the Inquisition 1814 1818 Francisco Javier Mier Campillo Bishop of Almería 1818 1818 Cristóbal Bencomo y Rodríguez Titular Archbishop of Heraclea (position rejected by himself)[ 2] 1818 1820 Gerónimo Castillón y Salas Bishop of Tarazona
List of inquisitors-general of Portugal [ edit ] D. Diogo da Silva (1536–1539), Archbishop of Braga . Cardinal Dom Henrique (1539–1579), Archbishop of Braga , became King of Portugal. D. Manuel de Meneses (1578–1578), Bishop of Lamego and Bishop of Coimbra , killed at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir . D. Jorge de Almeida (1580–1585), Archbishop of Lisbon . Albert VII, Archduke of Austria (1586–1593), Cardinal and Archbishop of Toledo , Viceroy of Portugal . D. António de Matos de Noronha (1596–1602), Bishop of Elvas . D. Jorge de Ataíde (1602), Bishop of Viseu , refused the position. D. Alexandre de Bragança, (1602–1604), Archbishop of Evora . D. Pedro de Castilho (1605–1615), Grand Chaplain of King Philip II of Portugal . D. Fernando Martins Mascarenhas (1615–1628), Bishop of Algarve and Bishop of Faro . D. Francisco de Castro, (1630–1653), Bishop of Guarda . D. Sebastião César de Meneses (1663–1668). Appointed by King Afonso VI of Portugal , but not confirmed by Pope Alexander VII due to the lack of recognition of the new Portuguese State by the Holy See . D. Pedro de Lencastre (1671–1673), Archbishop of Braga and Duke of Aveiro . D. Veríssimo de Lencastre (1676–1692), Archbishop of Braga . D. Frei José de Lencastre (1693–1705), Bishop of Bragança-Miranda and Bishop of Leiria . D. Nuno da Cunha e Ataíde (1707–1750), Grand Chaplain of King Pedro II of Portugal and John V of Portugal . D. José de Bragança (1758–1760), bastard son of John V of Portugal . D. João Cosme da Cunha (1770–1783), Archbishop of Evora and minister of Justice. Frei Inácio de São Caetano (1787–1788), confessor of Queen Maria I of Portugal . D. José Maria de Melo (1790–1818), Bishop of Algarve , Bishop of Faro and confessor of Queen Maria I of Portugal . D. José Joaquim da Cunha Azeredo Coutinho (1818-1821), Bishop of Elvas .[ 3]